Thorn in the Side
by MageNellofGalla
Summary: In a stroke of luck, Irnai's parents managed to move to a new clan before the twister got them. Irnai will never experience being an orphan. Written for the AU Hammer Throw for Decathlon at fiefgoldenlake . proboards . com.


Series: Knowing  
Title: Thorn in the Side  
Rating: G  
Event: AU Hammer Throw  
Words: 1,183  
Summary: In a stroke of luck, Irnai's parents managed to move to a new clan before the twister got them. Irnai will never experience being an orphan.

Sometimes, Irnai just couldn't follow Shakith's orders. Keep the knowledge of the storm from her parents? That was _not _going to happen. And no one could stop her.

The little seer was with Aledia, a good friend of her mother, when her parents had to travel to Galla. They required some new cloth, and were also in need of a new pony.

It was then that she got a vision: a storm, right in her parents' path. Along with the vision was a message: do not tell your parents of this. _Why would you give me this information if I wasn't allowed to tell anyone?_ She questioned the god. She disobeyed and they were alive and healthy when they came back two months later.

Two years passed and Irnai was now six years old. Making friends had been hard. It was years before Noli and Tillus, her parents, let her play with other children. The others liked her, thought that she was refreshing.

She soon discovered that telling people outright about her visions didn't do any good; people wouldn't listen to a six-year-old. But she still wanted to help so she'd, instead, have her father relay her information.

Her parents wanted to keep her from the world. She was special, and, surely, she was one to be ridiculed by society. But one night, in her sleep, a woman came to her.

"Hello, Irnai_,"_ the woman said. She had extremely long, black curls. She was young and yet really old at the same time, as if she was flashing into the future. Her eyes were an eerie, unnatural grey-purple without pupils framed with long eyelashes. Her nose was long.

"H— hello." The girl's voice shook. "Who're you?"

"I am Shakith, darling." Her dress was marble purple and starlit blue with a tail trailing behind. "D'you remember me?"

Irnai jumped out of bed and bowed very low. "I am dreadfully sorry…" How was she supposed to address a goddess? Highness? Your Majesty? Your Godliness? "I believe that I went against your wishes when I was four."

The goddess' thin red lips curled into a satisfied smile. "A good memory —and plucky to boot," she commented. "You'll need that where you're going."

Irnai's dark green eyes widened. "Where will I be going?"

Shakith sighed and drifted around the small room. "If I hadn't accidentally sent you that vision of the storm, you would've already been at your destination. You will soon see why I wanted you to keep your mouth shut."

She looked at the little girl sharply and Irnai flinched. "I also would've saved a trip to the mortal realms."

"I am so sorry. I truly am." Irnai was scared. Very, very scared. There was a major goddess in her room! She would probably be burnt to ashes in a moment.

"You are very important. So don't be scared; I can't really hurt you."

The seer sighed in relief. "Now, Irnai. Look at my dress." She twirled around, making her dress puff up like a crystal ball. Surprisingly, it didn't break anything in her room— then again, there wasn't much to break. Irnai saw a large castle. Somehow, she knew it was Castle Rathhausak. She saw Tortallan soldiers coming in, and then her jumping from the bushes, grinning.

Shakith stopped twirling. "You must go to Rathhausak and give their people hope. They cannot go on without hope. Despite this being very cliché, the balance of the world depends on you." She ripped off a piece of her dress and handed it to her. "Here. For remembrance."

Irnai accepted it timidly. It was a lot to bear —almost too much for her six-year-old brain. But her heart accepted the challenge. She would do it. "Thank you very much," she squeaked.

"You've a long road, young one. And a lot to learn." She stroked her hair. "Go back to sleep. The world can wait for tonight."

The next day, Irnai packed up, still not sure how she'd work this out.

"Irnai, why are you packing?" Noli, her mother asked.

She looked at her mother and cried. "I have to go, mother. I have a mission."

Noli tilted her head, not quite understanding. "What kind of mission?"

"I have to save the balance of the world." She stood and smothered her with a hug. "I'll miss you, ma. But I know we'll meet again."

"Oh," her mother said in surprise. "Well, good luck on your mission. Remember to write. And watch out for wild animals."

Irnai looked up. "Thank you so much for understanding, mother."

Her eyes widened. Those were real tears. _Real_ tears were trailing down her beloved daughter's cheeks. She kneeled on one knee so that they could speak eye to eye. "Hey, Irnai. What's wrong?"

"I told you, ma. I'm going on a mission. I've got to go to Rathhausak." A fresh wave of tears rushed out of her eyes. Sure, her parents hadn't let her play with other children for years but she still loved them. It only occurred to her then that saving the world also meant leaving the ones you loved behind.

"Why? What are you going to do there?" Noli smoothed out her daughter's hair. She'd never seen Irnai cry for no reason. She'd been sure that Irnai was playing an imaginary game but it didn't seem like it now.

"I need to bring hope to the people there."

"You don't need to, sweetie." She hugged Irnai. She was thoroughly shaken. Where did her child get such preposterous ideas? Could it be the neighbors to the west? They sure did _look_ like troublemakers. This was one of the reasons that she didn't want Irnai to see the real world.

"Yes I do. I've been given direct orders by Shakith."

_That_ made Noli's blood run cold. Her daughter? Chosen by the gods? It was a living nightmare. "Irnai, I'm not letting you go to Rathhausak," she said firmly, banishing all fear from her eyes. "It's far too dangerous for a child like you."

"But, ma—"

"No but's. You're not leaving and that's final."

Irnai knew that she could not win this argument.

Later that night, Irnai sat in her room, looking out of the dirt window. She'd been her parents' secret for years and right when she got a little freedom, it was shut off. Her parents really were a thorn in her side.

She glanced wistfully at her still-full packs, then at the piece of dress in her hand. It still showed her that castle and her standing in between Tortallan soldiers and the villagers. She wiped it and it revealed another picture: an odd metal form destroying humans.

She crumpled it in her fist. Her decision was made: she would run away. She scribbled a note and left it on her bed for her parents.

Irnai snuck out and made her way to the neighboring clan that was a day away. She looked back to her home. Her parents were thorns in her side, which was true. But it didn't mean that she wanted to be rid of them.


End file.
